Limitations of xara

**photonkid** · 24 March 2013, 01:55 AM

I like xara because it lets me create all kinds of pretty colors and put everything exactly where I want on the screen. I think I read on this forum that xara isn't suitable for larger websites. Can anyone try and explain what the disadvantages of xara are, compared to say Dreamweaver, direct HTML coding or Wordpress.

e.g. with dynamic content, is it possible to get the "xara generated" static content to move down the page at page load time according to the size of the dynamic content. e.g. for a footer.

Thanks

**gwpriester** · 24 March 2013, 11:28 AM

See this recent thread for static content http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...age-file-links (the last entry on the page).

The reason why Xara is not good with very large websites is system resources (memory). Designer and Web Designer are 32-bit applications (one hopes this will change soon). 32-bit applications can only use 2-3GB of RAM, even if you have much more than that installed. So, if your website has a lot of photos, and you do not optimize your photos (change the resolution to 96dpi, Windows screen resolution), your site can slow to a crawl as the memory gets used up.

To get around this it is often good to break up a large site into smaller chunks and link each to the other. This XaraXone Workbook article explains how to manage a large website http://www.xaraxone.com/webxealot/wo...kbook%201.html

**steve.ledger** · 24 March 2013, 11:37 AM

disadvantages of xara are, compared to say Dreamweaver, direct HTML coding or Wordpress.

Dreamweaver and Xara Designer are as different to each other as Word and Dreamweaver are to each other.
The disadvantages are quite similar.

IOW: Like Word, Xara Designer files (.web or .xar) contain all pages, all text, all images in one file. HTML editors (like Dreamweaver) do not.
If you attempted to create even a 20 page photography site using hires images, you will run into serious memory problems as Gary mentions.

**photonkid** · 25 March 2013, 07:59 AM

Originally Posted by gwpriester

See this recent thread for static content http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...age-file-links (the last entry on the page).

Thanks. If I used the FixedTab layer for a footer would the footer always be visible on the screen? If so, that's not quite what I want.

e.g. suppose I have a page with an article that I want people to be able to add comments to - or even just a table where the number of entries isn't known until page load time. I guess the table would have to be generated using e.g. PHP. Can I use xara to create the page and have a widget placeholder thing for the dynamic table or user comments - or only if there's nothing on the page below the placeholder?

**steve.ledger** · 25 March 2013, 09:23 AM

The WD7 Tweak set includes and Dynamic Page Tweak which allows the page to accommodate additional content on load.
You can get the tweakset here:
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...gner-7-Premium

**photonkid** · 25 March 2013, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by sledger

The WD7 Tweak set includes and Dynamic Page Tweak which allows the page to accommodate additional content on load.
You can get the tweakset here:
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...gner-7-Premium

Cool, thanks! I'm very interested to see how the tweakset achieves this. It should be in the official product.

**steve.ledger** · 25 March 2013, 09:54 AM

The tweakset is produced by a Xara developer, Covoxer, who is the developer of the web features, HTML exporting etc in Xara Designer..
Think of the Tweaks as you would think of the extra widgets you can buy.
Once you install the tweakset, they will be accessible from the Designs gallery just like the widgets..
The Tweakset however, is free